When Saturday Night Live began, it wasn’t even called Saturday Night Live. That honor belonged to a rival variety show hosted by Howard Cosell that launched the same year on ABC primetime. Hence why the young, hungry, and immensely talented sketch comedians assembled in 1975 were dubbed the “Not Ready for Primetime Players.”
That earliest and now quasi-mythical first class of SNL alumni remain the only ones to hold that title. Perhaps this is because the joke stopped working after many of them proved more than capable of carrying a primetime television series. In fact, most of them went on to have successful careers on TV, the Broadway stage, and for the precious and most spectacular few… in the movies.
Ever since Chevy Chase exited SNL after its first season, the series has been viewed—sometimes to creator and producer Lorne Michaels and NBC executives’ consternation—as a launchpad for movie stardom.
That earliest and now quasi-mythical first class of SNL alumni remain the only ones to hold that title. Perhaps this is because the joke stopped working after many of them proved more than capable of carrying a primetime television series. In fact, most of them went on to have successful careers on TV, the Broadway stage, and for the precious and most spectacular few… in the movies.
Ever since Chevy Chase exited SNL after its first season, the series has been viewed—sometimes to creator and producer Lorne Michaels and NBC executives’ consternation—as a launchpad for movie stardom.
- 5/17/2024
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Nearly a month after Jonathan Glazer’s Oscars speech reverberated across Hollywood and caused a wave of controversy, 455 Jewish creatives (and counting) have signed a letter in a show of support.
“We were alarmed to see some of our colleagues in the industry mischaracterize and denounce his remarks. Their attacks on Glazer are a dangerous distraction from Israel’s escalating military campaign which has already killed over 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza and brought hundreds of thousands to the brink of starvation,” reads the letter, published amid the continued conflict in the Middle East. “We grieve for all those who have been killed in Palestine and Israel over too many decades, including the 1200 Israelis killed in the October 7 Hamas attacks and the 253 hostages taken.”
The letter is signed by a mix of actors, writers, producers, filmmakers and other creatives. Among those backing Glazer are Joker star Joaquin Phoenix; Killer Films vet Pamela Koffler...
“We were alarmed to see some of our colleagues in the industry mischaracterize and denounce his remarks. Their attacks on Glazer are a dangerous distraction from Israel’s escalating military campaign which has already killed over 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza and brought hundreds of thousands to the brink of starvation,” reads the letter, published amid the continued conflict in the Middle East. “We grieve for all those who have been killed in Palestine and Israel over too many decades, including the 1200 Israelis killed in the October 7 Hamas attacks and the 253 hostages taken.”
The letter is signed by a mix of actors, writers, producers, filmmakers and other creatives. Among those backing Glazer are Joker star Joaquin Phoenix; Killer Films vet Pamela Koffler...
- 4/10/2024
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Update: More than 300 Jewish creatives — including eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, “SNL” star Sarah Sherman, actor and documentarian Alex Winter and “Seinfeld” writer Larry Charles — have added their names to the list of signatories of an open letter in support of Jonathan Glazer’s Oscars speech.
The number of signees now sits at 492, having more than tripled since Variety first published the April 5 letter, which criticized the attacks on Glazer for being a “dangerous distraction” from the mounting death toll in Gaza while also contributing to the “suppression of free speech and dissent.”
New additions also include Oscar-winning “Anatomy of a Fall” co-writer Arthur Harari, veteran U.K. producer and Oscar winner Jeremy Thomas, “Girls” co-showrunner and co-writer Jenni Konner and “The Hunger Games” writer and director and four-time Oscar nominee Gary Ross. Many members of the Israeli film community have also signed the open letter, including Oren Moverman, Nadav Lapid,...
The number of signees now sits at 492, having more than tripled since Variety first published the April 5 letter, which criticized the attacks on Glazer for being a “dangerous distraction” from the mounting death toll in Gaza while also contributing to the “suppression of free speech and dissent.”
New additions also include Oscar-winning “Anatomy of a Fall” co-writer Arthur Harari, veteran U.K. producer and Oscar winner Jeremy Thomas, “Girls” co-showrunner and co-writer Jenni Konner and “The Hunger Games” writer and director and four-time Oscar nominee Gary Ross. Many members of the Israeli film community have also signed the open letter, including Oren Moverman, Nadav Lapid,...
- 4/10/2024
- by Ellise Shafer and Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Miriam Margolyes has called on all Jews “to shout, beg, scream for a ceasefire” in Gaza as the Palestinian territory continues to deal with rising death tolls and, according to aid agency Unrwa USA, is facing a “man-made famine.”
The veteran British-Australian actress and activist, who is best known for starring as Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter film franchise, released a video on Saturday via the Jewish Council of Australia, in which she said Israel’s prosecution of its war in Gaza has left her “so ashamed of Israel.”
She added, “To me, it seems as if Hitler has won. He’s changed us Jews from being compassionate and caring and do unto others as you would have them do unto you into this vicious, genocidal nationalist nation, pursuing and killing women and children.”
Margolyes said that she condemned Hamas’ actions. On Oct. 7 last year, Hamas launched a terrorist...
The veteran British-Australian actress and activist, who is best known for starring as Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter film franchise, released a video on Saturday via the Jewish Council of Australia, in which she said Israel’s prosecution of its war in Gaza has left her “so ashamed of Israel.”
She added, “To me, it seems as if Hitler has won. He’s changed us Jews from being compassionate and caring and do unto others as you would have them do unto you into this vicious, genocidal nationalist nation, pursuing and killing women and children.”
Margolyes said that she condemned Hamas’ actions. On Oct. 7 last year, Hamas launched a terrorist...
- 4/9/2024
- by Abid Rahman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: John Magaro (Past Lives) and Jeannie Berlin (You Hurt My Feelings) have been tapped for supporting roles in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Frankenstein film, The Bride!, starring Christian Bale.
No word on the roles they’ll be playing. As previously announced, the Warner Bros film also stars Jessie Buckley, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Penelope Cruz and Julianne Hough.
Marking Gyllenhaal’s follow-up to the Academy Award-nominated Netflix drama The Lost Daughter, The Bride! watches as a lonely Frankenstein travel to 1930s Chicago to seek the aide of a Dr. Euphronius in creating a companion for himself. The two reinvigorate a murdered young woman and the Bride is born. She is beyond what either of them intended, igniting a combustible romance, the attention of the police and a wild and radical social movement.
Gyllenhaal is directing from her own script and producing alongside Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Talia Kleinhendler...
No word on the roles they’ll be playing. As previously announced, the Warner Bros film also stars Jessie Buckley, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Penelope Cruz and Julianne Hough.
Marking Gyllenhaal’s follow-up to the Academy Award-nominated Netflix drama The Lost Daughter, The Bride! watches as a lonely Frankenstein travel to 1930s Chicago to seek the aide of a Dr. Euphronius in creating a companion for himself. The two reinvigorate a murdered young woman and the Bride is born. She is beyond what either of them intended, igniting a combustible romance, the attention of the police and a wild and radical social movement.
Gyllenhaal is directing from her own script and producing alongside Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Talia Kleinhendler...
- 4/8/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
In the weeks since the 2024 Academy Awards, figures throughout Hollywood have continued to declare their support for director Jonathan Glazer. While accepting the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film for The Zone of Interest, a film that centers on the Holocaust, the Jewish director criticized the dehumanization of “victims of October the 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza.”
The most recent show of support comes from an open letter signed by more than 150 Jewish creatives, including Joaquin Phoenix, Elliott Gould, Ilana Glazer, Chloe Fineman, Todd Haynes,...
The most recent show of support comes from an open letter signed by more than 150 Jewish creatives, including Joaquin Phoenix, Elliott Gould, Ilana Glazer, Chloe Fineman, Todd Haynes,...
- 4/5/2024
- by Larisha Paul
- Rollingstone.com
More than 150 Jewish industry professionals, including Joaquin Phoenix, Joel Coen, and Todd Haynes, have lent their names to a new open letter penned in support of Jonathan Glazer’s much-debated Oscars acceptance speech. Scroll down to read the full letter and list of names.
The full list of signatories first reported on by Variety features 151 names from across the film and TV world like Sorry to Bother You filmmaker Boots Riley, veteran indie director Nicole Holofcener, British auteur Mike Leigh, Passages filmmaker Ira Sachs, and Gossip Girl actor and writer Tavi Gevinson. Deadline was handed a copy of the letter and its signatories. We have also contacted reps for several names listed to confirm their involvement.
The open letter states that the signees “support Jonathan Glazer’s statement from the 2024 Oscars,” adding they have been “alarmed” to see their industry colleagues “mischaracterize and denounce his remarks.”
“Their attacks on Glazer...
The full list of signatories first reported on by Variety features 151 names from across the film and TV world like Sorry to Bother You filmmaker Boots Riley, veteran indie director Nicole Holofcener, British auteur Mike Leigh, Passages filmmaker Ira Sachs, and Gossip Girl actor and writer Tavi Gevinson. Deadline was handed a copy of the letter and its signatories. We have also contacted reps for several names listed to confirm their involvement.
The open letter states that the signees “support Jonathan Glazer’s statement from the 2024 Oscars,” adding they have been “alarmed” to see their industry colleagues “mischaracterize and denounce his remarks.”
“Their attacks on Glazer...
- 4/5/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Sugar23 has signed Charlie Tahan, the actor, writer, and director best known for his breakout starring role on Netflix’s Ozark, for management.
For a refresher, the Emmy-winning Ozark follows the seemingly ordinary financial planner, Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman), who becomes entangled in a dangerous world of money laundering and drug cartels. When a scheme goes awry, he’s forced to relocate his family from Chicago to the remote Ozarks in Missouri to launder money for a cartel, working to outmaneuver local criminals, corrupt officials, and his own fractured family dynamics.
Tahan’s character is Wyatt Langmore — cousin of Julia Garner’s Ruth — a member of a local crime family who proves an intelligent and introspective fan favorite, in spite of his troubled upbringing. His work as part of the ensemble earned him three SAG Award nominations between 2019 and 2023.
Most recently seen starring alongside Christian Bale in Scott Cooper...
For a refresher, the Emmy-winning Ozark follows the seemingly ordinary financial planner, Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman), who becomes entangled in a dangerous world of money laundering and drug cartels. When a scheme goes awry, he’s forced to relocate his family from Chicago to the remote Ozarks in Missouri to launder money for a cartel, working to outmaneuver local criminals, corrupt officials, and his own fractured family dynamics.
Tahan’s character is Wyatt Langmore — cousin of Julia Garner’s Ruth — a member of a local crime family who proves an intelligent and introspective fan favorite, in spite of his troubled upbringing. His work as part of the ensemble earned him three SAG Award nominations between 2019 and 2023.
Most recently seen starring alongside Christian Bale in Scott Cooper...
- 3/21/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
If you’re looking for something new to watch on Hulu, you’ve hit the jackpot. Below we’ve rounded up a curated selection of some of the best new movies streaming on Hulu this month, with a bit of a theme – selections include some recent Oscar-winning hits, past acclaimed films with connections to current blockbusters and even an underseen rom-com for good measure.
Check out our picks for the best new movies on Hulu in March 2024 below.
Dune Warner Bros.
Before you sit down for “Dune: Part Two” in theaters, brush up by watching Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part One.” While the first film is streaming on Max, it also hits Hulu this month in case that’s your streamer of choice. And watching “Dune: Part One” is certainly a prerequisite for “Part Two” as the sequel is very much a continuation of one long story, and picks up...
Check out our picks for the best new movies on Hulu in March 2024 below.
Dune Warner Bros.
Before you sit down for “Dune: Part Two” in theaters, brush up by watching Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part One.” While the first film is streaming on Max, it also hits Hulu this month in case that’s your streamer of choice. And watching “Dune: Part One” is certainly a prerequisite for “Part Two” as the sequel is very much a continuation of one long story, and picks up...
- 3/17/2024
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
A movie marathon with our favorite auteurs? Where do we sign up?
Turner Classic Movies’ latest limited series “Two for One” features curated double features coupled with commentary from select guest programmers like Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, and more. The upcoming TCM series is hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, who will interview each director about why they chose to highlight their two chosen films.
“Two for One” will feature 12 nights of double features, beginning April 6. With the logline “two films, one filmmaker, countless perspectives,” the series is set to span all of cinematic history. Directors will offer commentary on the double feature’s cultural significance, its influence on other films, behind-the-scenes stories, and their own personal reflections.
Martin Scorsese kicks off the show with a conversation comparing “Blood on the Moon” and “One Touch of Venus.” The following week, actress/director Olivia Wilde picks “Auntie Mame” and 1976 documentary “Grey Gardens.
Turner Classic Movies’ latest limited series “Two for One” features curated double features coupled with commentary from select guest programmers like Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, and more. The upcoming TCM series is hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, who will interview each director about why they chose to highlight their two chosen films.
“Two for One” will feature 12 nights of double features, beginning April 6. With the logline “two films, one filmmaker, countless perspectives,” the series is set to span all of cinematic history. Directors will offer commentary on the double feature’s cultural significance, its influence on other films, behind-the-scenes stories, and their own personal reflections.
Martin Scorsese kicks off the show with a conversation comparing “Blood on the Moon” and “One Touch of Venus.” The following week, actress/director Olivia Wilde picks “Auntie Mame” and 1976 documentary “Grey Gardens.
- 3/8/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Turner Classic Movies have announced a new limited series, Two for One, that will feature 12 nights of double features curated by some of the most celebrated filmmakers in Hollywood beginning April 6. TCM Primetime Host Ben Mankiewicz will be joined by each director, including Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Todd Haynes, Spike Lee, Nicole Holofcener, and Rian Johnson, to introduce the two films they chose. They will offer commentary on the double feature’s cultural significance, its influence on other films, behind-the-scenes stories, and their own personal reflections.
“This was such an eclectic group of filmmakers to sit down with, which was invigorating, from Martin Scorsese talking about a Robert Mitchum western, to Spike Lee discussing Elia Kazan, to Olivia Wilde’s breakdown of Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame,” said Ben Mankiewicz. “In these double features, these 12 directors lead us on an insider’s journey through cinematic history.”
See...
“This was such an eclectic group of filmmakers to sit down with, which was invigorating, from Martin Scorsese talking about a Robert Mitchum western, to Spike Lee discussing Elia Kazan, to Olivia Wilde’s breakdown of Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame,” said Ben Mankiewicz. “In these double features, these 12 directors lead us on an insider’s journey through cinematic history.”
See...
- 3/8/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2023 Oscars Predictions:
Best Original Screenplay Past Lives, from left: Teo Yoo, Greta Lee, John Magro, 2023. © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: Following its victories at the Golden Globes for best screenplay and the BAFTA for original screenplay, it appears almost inevitable that “Anatomy of a Fall” will secure the Oscar for its co-writers,...
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2023 Oscars Predictions:
Best Original Screenplay Past Lives, from left: Teo Yoo, Greta Lee, John Magro, 2023. © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: Following its victories at the Golden Globes for best screenplay and the BAFTA for original screenplay, it appears almost inevitable that “Anatomy of a Fall” will secure the Oscar for its co-writers,...
- 3/7/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Achievement in Directing The Zone Of Interest, 2023. © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: Christopher Nolan… in a walk. It’s not really worth going over any other potential upsets, but if you prefer — Jonathan Glazer for “The Zone of Interest.”
After a year hit with Hollywood...
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Achievement in Directing The Zone Of Interest, 2023. © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
Weekly Commentary: Christopher Nolan… in a walk. It’s not really worth going over any other potential upsets, but if you prefer — Jonathan Glazer for “The Zone of Interest.”
After a year hit with Hollywood...
- 3/7/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Upcoming directing and producing projects are expanding Toni Collette’s creative horizons, according to the Australian actress speaking at Qumra this weekend.
She will soon star in A French Pursuit, a comedy feature directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Collette will produce the film through her Vocab Films company, alongside UK producer Christopher Simon’s New Sparta Films.
“Meeting the production team we’re working with in France, casting people – it’s stuff you don’t get to do as an actor, it’s incredibly satisfying,” said Collette, speaking in Doha where she gave a masterclass to emerging filmmakers and attending industry...
She will soon star in A French Pursuit, a comedy feature directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Collette will produce the film through her Vocab Films company, alongside UK producer Christopher Simon’s New Sparta Films.
“Meeting the production team we’re working with in France, casting people – it’s stuff you don’t get to do as an actor, it’s incredibly satisfying,” said Collette, speaking in Doha where she gave a masterclass to emerging filmmakers and attending industry...
- 3/4/2024
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Following a bidding war, TriStar Pictures has beaten out a number of suitors and pre-emptively acquired rights to Alison Espach’s forthcoming novel The Wedding People. Will Speck and Josh Gordon, who have a first-look deal with Sony Pictures, are set to direct, with Oscar-nominated screenwriter Nicole Holofcener writing.
“It’s rare to read something that feels like real life, in all the best ways. .. funny, painful, cathartic and lasting. A throwback to the movies we grew up on with a modern sensibility. This is a story we can’t wait to tell,” said Speck and Gordon.
Speck, Gordon and Eric Fineman will produce through their company Speck + Gordon Inc. alongside Jonathan King and Ash Sarohia for Concordia Studio. Shary Shirazi and Kelseigh Coombs are overseeing the project for TriStar.
“Nicole is the perfect partner to adapt this incredible novel. She writes characters that are beautifully complex, with humor...
“It’s rare to read something that feels like real life, in all the best ways. .. funny, painful, cathartic and lasting. A throwback to the movies we grew up on with a modern sensibility. This is a story we can’t wait to tell,” said Speck and Gordon.
Speck, Gordon and Eric Fineman will produce through their company Speck + Gordon Inc. alongside Jonathan King and Ash Sarohia for Concordia Studio. Shary Shirazi and Kelseigh Coombs are overseeing the project for TriStar.
“Nicole is the perfect partner to adapt this incredible novel. She writes characters that are beautifully complex, with humor...
- 2/29/2024
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Mubi have announced two exclusive collections running during the month of February, In The Mood For Love and Cut to Black: Celebrating Black Cinema. In a couple of weeks Valentine's Day will have come and gone and you'd have celebrated it with your loved ones or, like me, you will lament that the two week build-up of jealousy and snarkiness about the day could not go on for the remaining two weeks of the month. For those of you looking to keep that feeling going Mubi will have their film collection In The Mood For Love which will be available to stream starting February 14th. This collection of cinematic romances features Nicole Holofcener’s Lovely & Amazing (2001) starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Aki Kaurismäki’s Golden Globe...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 2/1/2024
- Screen Anarchy
You know what they say: don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to. When Beth, a successful memoirist, writes her first novel and asks her husband, Don, for advice, he promises her he likes it. But soon, their long-standing marriage is turned upside down when she overhears him giving his honest reaction. Considered one of 2023’s best films, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies star in the A24 comedy-drama feature “You Hurt My Feelings,” which comes to Paramount+ this Friday, Jan. 26. You can watch with a 7-Day Free Trial of Paramount Plus.
How to Watch Julia Louis-Dreyfus Movie 'You Hurt My Feelings' When: Friday, January 26, 2024 Where: Paramount Plus Stream: Watch with a 7-Day Free Trial of Paramount Plus. Get 30 Days Free$5.99+ / month paramountplus.com
For a Limited Time, Get 1-Month of Paramount+ With Code: Superbowl.
About Julia Louis-Dreyfus Movie 'You Hurt My Feelings'
Julia Louis-Dreyfus reunites with her...
How to Watch Julia Louis-Dreyfus Movie 'You Hurt My Feelings' When: Friday, January 26, 2024 Where: Paramount Plus Stream: Watch with a 7-Day Free Trial of Paramount Plus. Get 30 Days Free$5.99+ / month paramountplus.com
For a Limited Time, Get 1-Month of Paramount+ With Code: Superbowl.
About Julia Louis-Dreyfus Movie 'You Hurt My Feelings'
Julia Louis-Dreyfus reunites with her...
- 1/26/2024
- by Ashley Steves
- The Streamable
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are reuniting for kidnapping thriller Animals for Netflix, and here are the details.
Despite both being equally successful as actors, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have built up quite the portfolio of work behind the camera. T
hey won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 1998 for their work on the wonderful Good Will Hunting, which was directed by Gus Van Sant. Robin Williams also won Best Supporting Actor that time.
It led to Kevin Smith’s brilliant parody in his 2001 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, where we glimpse a violent clip from Smith’s made up sequel Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season.
The pair went on to co-write 2021’s The Last Duel with Nicole Holofcener, and most recently scripted acclaimed drama, Air, the story of how Sonny Vaccaro changed the fortune of shoemaker Nike by signing a young Michael Jordan.
Now,...
Despite both being equally successful as actors, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have built up quite the portfolio of work behind the camera. T
hey won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 1998 for their work on the wonderful Good Will Hunting, which was directed by Gus Van Sant. Robin Williams also won Best Supporting Actor that time.
It led to Kevin Smith’s brilliant parody in his 2001 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, where we glimpse a violent clip from Smith’s made up sequel Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season.
The pair went on to co-write 2021’s The Last Duel with Nicole Holofcener, and most recently scripted acclaimed drama, Air, the story of how Sonny Vaccaro changed the fortune of shoemaker Nike by signing a young Michael Jordan.
Now,...
- 1/26/2024
- by Jake Godfrey
- Film Stories
Mubi has unveiled their February 2024 lineup, featuring Roy Andersson’s little-seen 1991 short World of Glory, Nicole Holofcener’s Lovely & Amazing starring Catherine Keener with an early Jake Gyllenhaal performance, and special Black History Month selections: Spike Lee’s Red Hook Summer, Kasi Lemmon’s Eve’s Bayou, Carl Franklin’s One False Move, and more.
Check out the lineup below, including recently added January titles, and get 30 days free here.
Just-Added
American Movie, directed by Christopher Smith | Festival Focus: Sundance
Pieces of April, directed by Peter Hedges | Festival Focus: Sundance
The Blair Witch Project, directed by Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez | Festival Focus: Sundance
But I’m a Cheerleader, directed by Jamie Babbit | Festival Focus: Sundance
Secretary, directed by Steven Shainberg | Festival Focus: Sundance
Medicine for Melancholy directed by Barry Jenkins | First Films First
Antiviral, directed by Brandon Cronenberg | First Films First
Shithouse, directed by Cooper Raiff | First Films First
Age of Panic,...
Check out the lineup below, including recently added January titles, and get 30 days free here.
Just-Added
American Movie, directed by Christopher Smith | Festival Focus: Sundance
Pieces of April, directed by Peter Hedges | Festival Focus: Sundance
The Blair Witch Project, directed by Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez | Festival Focus: Sundance
But I’m a Cheerleader, directed by Jamie Babbit | Festival Focus: Sundance
Secretary, directed by Steven Shainberg | Festival Focus: Sundance
Medicine for Melancholy directed by Barry Jenkins | First Films First
Antiviral, directed by Brandon Cronenberg | First Films First
Shithouse, directed by Cooper Raiff | First Films First
Age of Panic,...
- 1/25/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Julia Louis-Dreyfus processes the imminent death of her daughter with the help of a talking parrot in the trailer for A24’s Tuesday.
Tuesday stars Louis-Dreyfus as Zora, a mother who takes care of her terminally ill daughter, Tuesday. When a talking, size-altering parrot — known simply as “Death” — arrives in their lives, he prepares Tuesday for her eventual demise and helps Zora understand, process, and accept her daughter’s fate.
Written and directed by Daina O. Pusić in her directorial debut, Tuesday premiered at Colorado’s Telluride Film Festival last fall. The dramatic appearance marks Louis-Dreyfus’ second starring role in an A24-distributed film, after her lauded turn in Nicole Holofcener’s 2023 movie, You Hurt My Feelings.
Rounding out Tuesday’s cast are Lola Petticrew, Leah Harvey, and Arinzé Kene, who voices Death. Tuesday is a co-production between A24, the BFI, and BBC Film. A release date is unconfirmed, but...
Tuesday stars Louis-Dreyfus as Zora, a mother who takes care of her terminally ill daughter, Tuesday. When a talking, size-altering parrot — known simply as “Death” — arrives in their lives, he prepares Tuesday for her eventual demise and helps Zora understand, process, and accept her daughter’s fate.
Written and directed by Daina O. Pusić in her directorial debut, Tuesday premiered at Colorado’s Telluride Film Festival last fall. The dramatic appearance marks Louis-Dreyfus’ second starring role in an A24-distributed film, after her lauded turn in Nicole Holofcener’s 2023 movie, You Hurt My Feelings.
Rounding out Tuesday’s cast are Lola Petticrew, Leah Harvey, and Arinzé Kene, who voices Death. Tuesday is a co-production between A24, the BFI, and BBC Film. A release date is unconfirmed, but...
- 1/25/2024
- by Paolo Ragusa
- Consequence - Film News
Even though we are still two months away from finding out whether Emma Stone or Lily Gladstone will take home the Oscar for Best Actress this year, a contender has entered the race for the 2025 title. A24 has just released a trailer for its upcoming film “Tuesday,” a heart-wrenching film about a mother confronting the inevitability of her daughter’s death that stars Emmy Award-winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Watch the full “Tuesday” trailer below.
The trailer begins with a moment that captures Louis-Dreyfus’ signature comedic timing: her character tells her daughter that she does in fact know how flirting works by asking her rhetorically, “How do you think you got here?” We see how she cares for her sick child, played by Lola Petticrew, who receives a visit from a fantastical talking bird. Though the girl keeps the creature a secret from her mother for a while, it eventually reveals itself to tell Louis-Dreyfus’ character,...
The trailer begins with a moment that captures Louis-Dreyfus’ signature comedic timing: her character tells her daughter that she does in fact know how flirting works by asking her rhetorically, “How do you think you got here?” We see how she cares for her sick child, played by Lola Petticrew, who receives a visit from a fantastical talking bird. Though the girl keeps the creature a secret from her mother for a while, it eventually reveals itself to tell Louis-Dreyfus’ character,...
- 1/25/2024
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are teaming up once again for “Animals,” a new crime thriller that Netflix has just acquired. Affleck will direct, with Damon starring, from a script by Connor McIntyre and Billy Ray.
Affleck will remain behind the camera for “Animals” — unlike his previous collaboration with Damon, Amazon Studios’ “Air,” in which Damon starred as Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro opposite Affleck in a supporting role as Nike founder Phil Knight. Like “Air,” Affleck and Damon are producing the project with Dani Bernfeld through their company Artists Equity, which they founded in 2022 with the intention of sharing profits with not just fellow actors, but below-the-line crew as well.
Plot details are scarce for “Animals,” but the story will focus on a kidnapping.
Affleck and Damon famously became friends in high school and collaborated as screenwriters for the 1997 indie sensation “Good Will Hunting,” which won them an Oscar for best original screenplay.
Affleck will remain behind the camera for “Animals” — unlike his previous collaboration with Damon, Amazon Studios’ “Air,” in which Damon starred as Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro opposite Affleck in a supporting role as Nike founder Phil Knight. Like “Air,” Affleck and Damon are producing the project with Dani Bernfeld through their company Artists Equity, which they founded in 2022 with the intention of sharing profits with not just fellow actors, but below-the-line crew as well.
Plot details are scarce for “Animals,” but the story will focus on a kidnapping.
Affleck and Damon famously became friends in high school and collaborated as screenwriters for the 1997 indie sensation “Good Will Hunting,” which won them an Oscar for best original screenplay.
- 1/25/2024
- by Adam B. Vary
- Variety Film + TV
As an end-of-year gift to our writers and readers, we've compiled a user-friendly overview of our publishing highlights from 2023. The collection is broken down by category: essays, interviews, festival coverage, and recurring columns.Browse at your leisure, and raise a glass to our brilliant contributors!Meanwhile, you can catch up with all of our end-of-year coverage here.{{notebook_form}}ESSAYSContemporary Cinema:Cinema as Sacrament: The Limitations of Killers of the Flower Moon by Adam PironA Change of Season: Trần Anh Hùng and Frederick Wiseman's Culinary Cinema by Phuong LeWalking, Talking, & Hurting Feelings: Nicole Holofcener's Everyday Dramas by Rafaela BassiliThe Limits of Control: Lines of Power in Todd Field's Tár by Helen CharmanThe Art of Losing: Joanna Hogg's Haunted Houses by Laura StaabTreading Water: Avatar: The Way of Water by Evan Calder WilliamsThe African Accent and the Colonial Ear by Maxine SibihwanaTen Minutes, but a Few Meters Longer:...
- 1/3/2024
- MUBI
It is meaningful to me to be back here, compiling a list of ten for Dn, following a year off last year. Coming back I feel my list is different to what it may have been without the break, where my film watching, cinema-going and general cinephilia took new forms that are still revealing themselves. Some notes:
There is no inclusion of Enys Men or One Fine Morning, which for me are 2022 films and though released cinematically this year I wish to leave that year well and truly behind me. I’ve only included films where there is a trailer link so there’s no room for Nariman Massoumi’s poetic short doc Pouring Water on Troubled Oil, currently screening at festivals though criminally getting overlooked at many that should show it, John Akomfrah’s stunning installation Arcadia, at The Box in Plymouth until June 2024, or finally, Mark Jenkin’s...
There is no inclusion of Enys Men or One Fine Morning, which for me are 2022 films and though released cinematically this year I wish to leave that year well and truly behind me. I’ve only included films where there is a trailer link so there’s no room for Nariman Massoumi’s poetic short doc Pouring Water on Troubled Oil, currently screening at festivals though criminally getting overlooked at many that should show it, John Akomfrah’s stunning installation Arcadia, at The Box in Plymouth until June 2024, or finally, Mark Jenkin’s...
- 12/29/2023
- by Neil Fox
- Directors Notes
From a Guy Ritchie action comedy to a revealing documentary about journalism, Guardian writers pick their favourite underseen films of the year
You Hurt My Feelings was a big hit at Sundance 12 months ago. Of course it was – Nicole Holofcener and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are the crack squad of Woody Allen-ish middle-class Manhattan first world problem cerebral comedy-dramas. But it was released way too early in the US, and then way too small in the UK – straight to streaming, in fact. That’s bananas: this is a terrific picture, fresh and funny and true and interesting. In short, Louis-Dreyfus is a novelist who overhears her shrink husband (Tobias Menzies) telling his friend he didn’t like her latest manuscript – despite having assured her to the contrary. Small fry in the bigger picture, sure, but the sort of betrayal the movies don’t much get into, and played with an intelligence...
You Hurt My Feelings was a big hit at Sundance 12 months ago. Of course it was – Nicole Holofcener and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are the crack squad of Woody Allen-ish middle-class Manhattan first world problem cerebral comedy-dramas. But it was released way too early in the US, and then way too small in the UK – straight to streaming, in fact. That’s bananas: this is a terrific picture, fresh and funny and true and interesting. In short, Louis-Dreyfus is a novelist who overhears her shrink husband (Tobias Menzies) telling his friend he didn’t like her latest manuscript – despite having assured her to the contrary. Small fry in the bigger picture, sure, but the sort of betrayal the movies don’t much get into, and played with an intelligence...
- 12/28/2023
- by Catherine Shoard, Charles Bramesco, Adrian Horton, Jesse Hassenger, Benjamin Lee, Veronica Esposito, Alaina Demopoulos, Radheyan Simonpillai, Lauren Mechling, Andrew Lawrence and Scott Tobias
- The Guardian - Film News
The ominous task that faced Eve Hewson when she first read John Carney’s script for Flora and Son had been accepted before she even realized it.
Sure, she knew Carney’s work, almost exclusively delivering features that baked music into the very fabric of their construction. She’d seen Glen Hansard belting at the top of his lungs in Carney’s debut, Once; Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo making sweet music together in Begin Again; Ferdia Walsh-Peelo embracing ’80s pop in Sing Street. She knew what was coming, but still hoped it never would.
She fell madly in love with Flora, a single mum living in a Dublin apartment block with her delinquent teenage son Max, turning each page as Flora salvaged a guitar from a skip, had it tidied up, and gifted it to Max. She followed along as the character started taking guitar lessons by Zoom with...
Sure, she knew Carney’s work, almost exclusively delivering features that baked music into the very fabric of their construction. She’d seen Glen Hansard belting at the top of his lungs in Carney’s debut, Once; Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo making sweet music together in Begin Again; Ferdia Walsh-Peelo embracing ’80s pop in Sing Street. She knew what was coming, but still hoped it never would.
She fell madly in love with Flora, a single mum living in a Dublin apartment block with her delinquent teenage son Max, turning each page as Flora salvaged a guitar from a skip, had it tidied up, and gifted it to Max. She followed along as the character started taking guitar lessons by Zoom with...
- 12/21/2023
- by Joe Utichi
- Deadline Film + TV
Chicago – Here we are again, the end of another year, and it’s time to momentarily look back. Thus opens the 10 Best Films Of 2023, the list that represents one soul interacting with the art of cinema. That soul belongs to Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, Wbgr-fm and Wssr-fm.
So begins my list, with such a lofty and third person proclamation. By far, the story of the year is Barbenheimer (the same weekend release of Barbie and Oppenheimer), proving in the digital age that something weird and organic can take hold, and get more people to the theaters, celebrating a true movie event. Kudos to the movie celebrators who did both in one magic day.
I format my 10 Best to reflect the on-air reviews I do weekly on Wbgr-fm and Wssr-fm and New on Missourinet.com. Each of the 10 Best will be in the on-air or audio format for your listening pleasure.
So begins my list, with such a lofty and third person proclamation. By far, the story of the year is Barbenheimer (the same weekend release of Barbie and Oppenheimer), proving in the digital age that something weird and organic can take hold, and get more people to the theaters, celebrating a true movie event. Kudos to the movie celebrators who did both in one magic day.
I format my 10 Best to reflect the on-air reviews I do weekly on Wbgr-fm and Wssr-fm and New on Missourinet.com. Each of the 10 Best will be in the on-air or audio format for your listening pleasure.
- 12/20/2023
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Friends! It is a treat to celebrate the passage of another year with you. 2023 has been an unusual one with the Writers and Actors’ strikes provoking much discussion about the current state (and future outlook) of the industry. But there were wonderful high points of pure joy – a Goonie won an Oscar! – and great work was seen and championed.
We saw new films from Hayao Miyazaki, Jeff Nichols, Greta Gerwig, Yorgos Lanthimos, Paul King, Mark Jenkin, Sofia Coppola, M. Night Shyamalan, Nicole Holofcener, Pedro Almodovar, Brandon Cronenberg, Emerald Fennell, Ari Aster, and a new TV series from Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij – life in the chaotic tubetunnel is vibrant indeed!
It is with this spirit in mind that we, in our fifteenth year, take our fourteenth lookback and the films and people we want to celebrate in…
The 2023 Truffles – The HeyUGuys Alternative Movie Awards
Once again – from all of us...
We saw new films from Hayao Miyazaki, Jeff Nichols, Greta Gerwig, Yorgos Lanthimos, Paul King, Mark Jenkin, Sofia Coppola, M. Night Shyamalan, Nicole Holofcener, Pedro Almodovar, Brandon Cronenberg, Emerald Fennell, Ari Aster, and a new TV series from Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij – life in the chaotic tubetunnel is vibrant indeed!
It is with this spirit in mind that we, in our fifteenth year, take our fourteenth lookback and the films and people we want to celebrate in…
The 2023 Truffles – The HeyUGuys Alternative Movie Awards
Once again – from all of us...
- 12/15/2023
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Any year in which an unlikely summer double bill became a global moviegoing event — with one film soaring toward $1.5 billion in worldwide grosses and the other closing in on $1 billion — can’t be considered bad news for Hollywood. But the Barbenheimer phenomenon aside, bad news plagued the film industry for much of 2023.
The strikes of the writers and actors guilds shut down production for five long months, causing major titles like Dune 2 to push back to 2024, leaving fall festival red carpets sparsely populated and disrupting a release pipeline in ways that are sure to have a ripple effect for the next year or two.
Theatrical grosses remained inconsistent, struggling to regain pre-pandemic momentum for most genres except horror (all hail, new scream queen M3GAN; a big hand for Talk to Me), and even the once-reliable cash cow of the superhero blockbuster sputtered more often than not.
The Marvels...
The strikes of the writers and actors guilds shut down production for five long months, causing major titles like Dune 2 to push back to 2024, leaving fall festival red carpets sparsely populated and disrupting a release pipeline in ways that are sure to have a ripple effect for the next year or two.
Theatrical grosses remained inconsistent, struggling to regain pre-pandemic momentum for most genres except horror (all hail, new scream queen M3GAN; a big hand for Talk to Me), and even the once-reliable cash cow of the superhero blockbuster sputtered more often than not.
The Marvels...
- 12/13/2023
- by David Rooney, Jon Frosch, Lovia Gyarkye and Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Napoleon is an epic war drama film directed by the legendary director Ridley Scott, from a screenplay by David Scarpa. The biographical film follows the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, as he rises from the status of a young army officer to becoming an emperor. The film also focuses on his volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine. Napoleon stars Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role of Napoleon Bonaparte with Vanessa Kirby, Edouard Philipponnat, Youssef Kerkour, Matthew Needham, Cormac Hyde-Corrin, and Anna Mawn starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the war drama film here are some similar movies you could watch next.
The King (Netflix) Credit – Netflix
Synopsis: Hal (Timothée Chalamet), wayward prince and reluctant heir to the English throne, has turned his back on royal life and is living among the people. But when his tyrannical father dies, Hal is crowned King Henry V and is forced to embrace...
The King (Netflix) Credit – Netflix
Synopsis: Hal (Timothée Chalamet), wayward prince and reluctant heir to the English throne, has turned his back on royal life and is living among the people. But when his tyrannical father dies, Hal is crowned King Henry V and is forced to embrace...
- 11/27/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
One of the year’s buzziest titles is Orion’s American Fiction, the directorial debut from Emmy-winning Watchmen writer Cord Jefferson that has picked up accolades on the festival circuit, including the people’s choice award from the Toronto Film Festival (a major bellwether for the best picture race).
Based on Percival Everett’s novel Erasure, the film stars Jeffrey Wright as Monk Ellison, an underappreciated novelist frustrated with his career, the marketplace’s ideas of the kinds of books that Black writers should publish and the success of a “Black” novel that he believes flourishes in stereotypes. Following the sudden death of his sister (Tracee Ellis Ross), Monk returns home to care for his dementia-addled mother (Leslie Uggams). While dealing with his out-of-control brother (Sterling K. Brown) and sparking a relationship with a neighbor (Erika Alexander), Monk channels his frustrations into a pseudonymous novel, My Pafology, for which Monk...
Based on Percival Everett’s novel Erasure, the film stars Jeffrey Wright as Monk Ellison, an underappreciated novelist frustrated with his career, the marketplace’s ideas of the kinds of books that Black writers should publish and the success of a “Black” novel that he believes flourishes in stereotypes. Following the sudden death of his sister (Tracee Ellis Ross), Monk returns home to care for his dementia-addled mother (Leslie Uggams). While dealing with his out-of-control brother (Sterling K. Brown) and sparking a relationship with a neighbor (Erika Alexander), Monk channels his frustrations into a pseudonymous novel, My Pafology, for which Monk...
- 11/23/2023
- by Tyler Coates
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Celine Song has thought long and hard about how her current choices will ripple out into the future. “Who we are now cannot escape from who we were once,” says the director behind this year’s indie breakout Past Lives.
To make her point, she starts to script a scene between her future self and mine. “What’s going to happen is, in 20 years’ time, you and I are going to have a conversation again about a movie that I just made,” she tells me. “I just know that you’re going to say, ‘You remember when you were 35 and you were promoting your first movie, Past Lives?’ And we’ll just look at each other and we’ll see very vividly what each other was like.” As she envisions it, we’ll think about where we were at this exact moment — our loves, our stresses, our likely outdated haircuts.
To make her point, she starts to script a scene between her future self and mine. “What’s going to happen is, in 20 years’ time, you and I are going to have a conversation again about a movie that I just made,” she tells me. “I just know that you’re going to say, ‘You remember when you were 35 and you were promoting your first movie, Past Lives?’ And we’ll just look at each other and we’ll see very vividly what each other was like.” As she envisions it, we’ll think about where we were at this exact moment — our loves, our stresses, our likely outdated haircuts.
- 11/21/2023
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Hammer Museum has revealed its lineup for MoMA Contenders 2023, the annual film series organized by The Museum of Modern Art. Ten films will screen at the Hammer’s Billy Wilder Theater from Nov. 29 – Dec. 14, followed by Q&As with talent involved with the films. The films being presented are some of the most-anticipated and buzziest titles of the year and many will figure into the awards season race.The event is open to the public and tickets can be purchased at the Hammer website. They are $20 for general public and $10 for members.
The series kicks off Nov. 29 with a screening of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” which will be followed by a discussion with a speical guest. Dec. 4 will see a screening of French film “The Taste of Things,” followed by a Q&a with director Trân Anh Hùng. Dec. 6 will see Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” presented, followed by a...
The series kicks off Nov. 29 with a screening of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” which will be followed by a discussion with a speical guest. Dec. 4 will see a screening of French film “The Taste of Things,” followed by a Q&a with director Trân Anh Hùng. Dec. 6 will see Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” presented, followed by a...
- 11/6/2023
- by Jenelle Riley
- Variety Film + TV
Hulu has a vast library of content, with basically something to watch for everyone, and today we are making a list of the best new shows and movies coming to Hulu in November 2023 that you can watch right now. The shows and movies in this list are ranked according to their availability dates.
Black Cake Season 1 (November 1)
Synopsis: Based on The New York Times-bestselling book by Charmaine Wilkerson, “Black Cake” is a family drama wrapped in a murder mystery with a diverse cast of characters and a global setting, from Marissa Jo Cerar, Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films, and Aaron Kaplans’ Kapital Entertainment. The story takes place in Jamaica, Rome, Scotland, England and Southern California. Cerar wrote the adaptation and serves as showrunner on the series, which spans decades. In the late 1960s, a runaway bride named Covey disappears into the surf off the coast of Jamaica and is feared...
Black Cake Season 1 (November 1)
Synopsis: Based on The New York Times-bestselling book by Charmaine Wilkerson, “Black Cake” is a family drama wrapped in a murder mystery with a diverse cast of characters and a global setting, from Marissa Jo Cerar, Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films, and Aaron Kaplans’ Kapital Entertainment. The story takes place in Jamaica, Rome, Scotland, England and Southern California. Cerar wrote the adaptation and serves as showrunner on the series, which spans decades. In the late 1960s, a runaway bride named Covey disappears into the surf off the coast of Jamaica and is feared...
- 11/2/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
For the past decade, A24 has cultivated an almost cultlike devotion from its fans, thanks to its excellent taste in projects and idiosyncratic, meme-able movies like “The Witch,” “Uncut Gems” and “Midsommar.” Their films inspire such interest that their features usually come with a curated, highly sought-after merchandise drop that fans can purchase via their official website.
But a new strategy — which includes chasing the rights to the “Halloween” franchise — could land them in a place that, for all their big swings, they’ve never been before: the mainstream.
According to a top agent with knowledge of the company, over the summer A24 acquisition executive Noah Sacco made the talent agency rounds in search of “action and big IP projects.” The studio, the agent told TheWrap, is “deemphasizing the traditional character/auteur driven dramas.”
“Everyone in the independent film space is aware that A24 needs to pivot to more commercial films alongside its arthouse slate,...
But a new strategy — which includes chasing the rights to the “Halloween” franchise — could land them in a place that, for all their big swings, they’ve never been before: the mainstream.
According to a top agent with knowledge of the company, over the summer A24 acquisition executive Noah Sacco made the talent agency rounds in search of “action and big IP projects.” The studio, the agent told TheWrap, is “deemphasizing the traditional character/auteur driven dramas.”
“Everyone in the independent film space is aware that A24 needs to pivot to more commercial films alongside its arthouse slate,...
- 10/11/2023
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
You Hurt My Feelings.At a Friday-night showing of Nicole Holofcener’s latest film You Hurt My Feelings (2023), I noticed several people who had come with their moms. Holofcener makes great films to watch with your mom, if her definition of a great film is something that will make her laugh but won't treat her like an idiot. Holofcener’s stories are smart, funny and heartwarming, a little bit sad in the right places, sophisticated but palatable. Invariably, a great actress plays the lead—Catherine Keener, for the most part, though Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars both in Enough Said (2013) and You Hurt My Feelings. In the film, Beth (Louis-Dreyfus), a writer, overhears Don (Tobias Menzies) telling her brother-in-law that he doesn't like her latest novel. It hurts her feelings. She dry retches on the sidewalk, sobs to her sister, and swears she will never look at her husband the same way again.
- 10/3/2023
- MUBI
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The WGA strike is now nearing the 150 day mark. And while negotiators for the WGA and major media companies have come together again to further the conversation, but an end to the double strike is uncertain — especially as negotiations with SAG-AFTRA are still to follow. As protests on the picket lines continue, writers and actors are feeling the financial pressure. The strike is a direct response to the vice grip the studios have over the creative process, and as union workers fight for their livelihoods and their fair share, the “strategy” of the studios has been to wait out the clock or “break the WGA” as one studio executive so callously put it.
Right now, the studios’ endgame is to hold out until the people on the picket lines run...
The WGA strike is now nearing the 150 day mark. And while negotiators for the WGA and major media companies have come together again to further the conversation, but an end to the double strike is uncertain — especially as negotiations with SAG-AFTRA are still to follow. As protests on the picket lines continue, writers and actors are feeling the financial pressure. The strike is a direct response to the vice grip the studios have over the creative process, and as union workers fight for their livelihoods and their fair share, the “strategy” of the studios has been to wait out the clock or “break the WGA” as one studio executive so callously put it.
Right now, the studios’ endgame is to hold out until the people on the picket lines run...
- 9/22/2023
- by Daril Fannin
- The Wrap
With “American Fiction,” Cord Jefferson, best known for penning television episodes of “Succession” and “Watchmen,” helms one of the finest directorial debuts seen since Sam Mendes’ “American Beauty.” In the style that feels like an audacious blend of the screenplays of Alexander Payne’s “Sideways” and Nicole Holofcener’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me,” he shepherds an audacious dramedy anchored by a career-best and Oscar-worthy performance from star Jeffrey Wright. After debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival, it’s a movie that could be a contender for the coveted TIFF Audience Award, and it would be deserved.
Based on the novel “Erasure” by Percival Everett, the film follows author Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Wright), a frustrated novelist who is fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk writes an outlandish “Black” book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and madness.
Based on the novel “Erasure” by Percival Everett, the film follows author Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Wright), a frustrated novelist who is fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk writes an outlandish “Black” book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and madness.
- 9/9/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
(Welcome to Under the Radar, a column where we spotlight specific movies, shows, trends, performances, or scenes that caught our eye and deserved more attention ... but otherwise flew under the radar. In this edition: Lamar Johnson and Aaron Pierre are the standouts in Clement Virgo's bracing "Brother," "How to Blow Up a Pipeline" is an unforgettably taut environmental thriller, and "You Hurt My Feelings" keeps writer/director Nicole Holofcener's winning streak going.)
If there's one thing that movie fans should recognize in the midst of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA's dual strikes, it's this: Films don't disappear the minute they end their original theatrical runs. Despite what studios would have you believe, the home release side of the equation involves several crucial factors such as residuals (which remain a top priority among writers and actors), transparency in streaming views, and more. But more to the point, ask any writer,...
If there's one thing that movie fans should recognize in the midst of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA's dual strikes, it's this: Films don't disappear the minute they end their original theatrical runs. Despite what studios would have you believe, the home release side of the equation involves several crucial factors such as residuals (which remain a top priority among writers and actors), transparency in streaming views, and more. But more to the point, ask any writer,...
- 9/1/2023
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
As the streaming landscape grows stranger and more unpredictable, it's always good to remember that physical media is superior. I beat this drum every time I have one of these here Blu-ray round-ups, but it's something that bears repeating: streaming comes and goes, physical media is forever. And it looks better, too. Sure, you can stream stuff in 4K these days, but the quality will always be greater with a physical disc.
Our latest Blu-ray round-up gathers together four new releases, all of which are quite different from one another. It's an eclectic bunch to say the least, gang! You have a superhero box office flop, the latest from Wes Anderson, a charming adult-driven comedy from director Nicole Holofcener, and a horror-comedy with a clever premise.
Read more: Every Batman Movie And The Real-World Fears They Highlight
The Flash
"The Flash" feels like a truly cursed film. It was delayed...
Our latest Blu-ray round-up gathers together four new releases, all of which are quite different from one another. It's an eclectic bunch to say the least, gang! You have a superhero box office flop, the latest from Wes Anderson, a charming adult-driven comedy from director Nicole Holofcener, and a horror-comedy with a clever premise.
Read more: Every Batman Movie And The Real-World Fears They Highlight
The Flash
"The Flash" feels like a truly cursed film. It was delayed...
- 8/30/2023
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
The star of Seinfeld, Veep and new film You Hurt My Feelings has barely put a foot wrong in her 40-year career. She discusses juggling parenting and working, dark days on SNL – and celebrating older women
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicole Holofcener trusted each other immediately. In the early 2010s, they met to discuss whether Louis-Dreyfus would star in the indie director’s next film, the offbeat romantic comedy Enough Said. “We got along so well that I was kind of baffled we hadn’t met until then,” says Louis‑Dreyfus. She signed up.
At the first table read, Holofcener remembers her horseplay with the actor who played Seinfeld’s infamous Elaine Benes all but overshadowing the co-lead, James Gandolfini: “We could finish each other’s sentences – she so got the materials, she so got me. She would jump in with ideas that were generally fantastic. And we would laugh until we peed.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicole Holofcener trusted each other immediately. In the early 2010s, they met to discuss whether Louis-Dreyfus would star in the indie director’s next film, the offbeat romantic comedy Enough Said. “We got along so well that I was kind of baffled we hadn’t met until then,” says Louis‑Dreyfus. She signed up.
At the first table read, Holofcener remembers her horseplay with the actor who played Seinfeld’s infamous Elaine Benes all but overshadowing the co-lead, James Gandolfini: “We could finish each other’s sentences – she so got the materials, she so got me. She would jump in with ideas that were generally fantastic. And we would laugh until we peed.
- 8/4/2023
- by Laura Snapes
- The Guardian - Film News
Veteran indie producer Ted Hope opened Locarno’s industry symposium Thursday afternoon with a provocative keynote during which he declared: “The indie film system is f*cked.”
The talk, titled “Indie Films: 50 Years of Building The Wrong Thing,” began with Hope’s pointed declaration before he reassured the audience of predominantly European industry insiders that now is the time to build a new, self-sufficient indie eco-system.
“There’s a huge chance that we’ve never had before to build something better,” Hope said, adding: “And I actually think it’s quite doable.”
Hope has made similar assessments in the past. In 1995, the producer, best known for helping to launch the careers of indie filmmakers such as Ang Lee, Nicole Holofcener, Todd Field, and Michel Gondry, published the seminal essay “Indie Film Is Dead.” Today, however, Hope said his past thesis wasn’t quite right. At the time, he said he...
The talk, titled “Indie Films: 50 Years of Building The Wrong Thing,” began with Hope’s pointed declaration before he reassured the audience of predominantly European industry insiders that now is the time to build a new, self-sufficient indie eco-system.
“There’s a huge chance that we’ve never had before to build something better,” Hope said, adding: “And I actually think it’s quite doable.”
Hope has made similar assessments in the past. In 1995, the producer, best known for helping to launch the careers of indie filmmakers such as Ang Lee, Nicole Holofcener, Todd Field, and Michel Gondry, published the seminal essay “Indie Film Is Dead.” Today, however, Hope said his past thesis wasn’t quite right. At the time, he said he...
- 8/3/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies lead grownup story whose bittersweet punchlines stress the bitter component
A hot button issue in recent cinema criticism – well, warm button anyway – is the eradication of intelligent mid-budget dramas in the Hollywood system. Making decently acted, well-written, approachable, middle to upper-middlebrow movies with three or four grownup leads for theatrical release used to be an honourable tradition. Now it’s getting squeezed out by franchise products, and maybe because producers dread an eye-rolling comment of “first world problems” at the pitch meeting.
But writer-director Nicole Holofcener is keeping the flag flying with her shrewd, talky movies about middle-aged anxiety. I wasn’t a fan of Friends With Money, but Enough Said, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the late James Gandolfini, was a terrific romantic comedy. Now there is You Hurt My Feelings, a smart, if faintly exhausting comedy about midlife disillusionment with a lot of bitter in the bittersweet.
A hot button issue in recent cinema criticism – well, warm button anyway – is the eradication of intelligent mid-budget dramas in the Hollywood system. Making decently acted, well-written, approachable, middle to upper-middlebrow movies with three or four grownup leads for theatrical release used to be an honourable tradition. Now it’s getting squeezed out by franchise products, and maybe because producers dread an eye-rolling comment of “first world problems” at the pitch meeting.
But writer-director Nicole Holofcener is keeping the flag flying with her shrewd, talky movies about middle-aged anxiety. I wasn’t a fan of Friends With Money, but Enough Said, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the late James Gandolfini, was a terrific romantic comedy. Now there is You Hurt My Feelings, a smart, if faintly exhausting comedy about midlife disillusionment with a lot of bitter in the bittersweet.
- 8/2/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
To celebrate the release of Nicole Holofcener’s beautifully observed new comedy You Hurt My Feelings, I spoke to Iranian American actor Arian Moayed about playing an actor in the midst of a crisis of confidence.
You Hurt My Feelings is a movie about trust, lies, and the things we say to the people we love most. It is led by multi-award-winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep), and also stars Tobias Menzies (The Crown), Arian Moayed (Succession), David Cross (Arrested Development), Sunita Mani (Everything Everywhere All At Once) and Jeannie Berlin (The Fabelmans).
Moayed spoke to us about his hankering for the heydays of indie comedies in the 90s. We also chatted about his brilliant portrayal of the duplicitous Stewy in the award winning show Succession and how much he enjoyed playing a villain for a change.Elsewhere, we also spoke about how he managed to avoid typecasting in Hollywood and his...
You Hurt My Feelings is a movie about trust, lies, and the things we say to the people we love most. It is led by multi-award-winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep), and also stars Tobias Menzies (The Crown), Arian Moayed (Succession), David Cross (Arrested Development), Sunita Mani (Everything Everywhere All At Once) and Jeannie Berlin (The Fabelmans).
Moayed spoke to us about his hankering for the heydays of indie comedies in the 90s. We also chatted about his brilliant portrayal of the duplicitous Stewy in the award winning show Succession and how much he enjoyed playing a villain for a change.Elsewhere, we also spoke about how he managed to avoid typecasting in Hollywood and his...
- 7/26/2023
- by Linda Marric
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Exclusive: Tobias Menzies was hiding in plain sight at a rally held by UK actors union Equity in support of its sister union SAG-AFTRA.
Cameras and microphones were being shoved in front of the likes of Brian Cox, Imelda Staunton, Jim Carter, Hayley Atwell, David Oyelowo, Naomie Harris and many others, but Menzies was just out of shot.
Had Menzies been wearing a bespoke suit, shirt, tie and nice polished shoes, the penny might have dropped for some in the media scrum.
He won an Emmy for his portrayal of Prince Philip in Seasons 3 and 4 of Netflix and Left Bank Pictures’ The Crown.
Then there’s Nicole Holofcener’s sharply observed — satisfyingly so — arch comedy You Hurt My Feelings, which is available on digital platforms in the U.S. and streaming on Prime Video in the U.K. from August 8.
Menzies sports an impressive American accent in Holofcener’s movie...
Cameras and microphones were being shoved in front of the likes of Brian Cox, Imelda Staunton, Jim Carter, Hayley Atwell, David Oyelowo, Naomie Harris and many others, but Menzies was just out of shot.
Had Menzies been wearing a bespoke suit, shirt, tie and nice polished shoes, the penny might have dropped for some in the media scrum.
He won an Emmy for his portrayal of Prince Philip in Seasons 3 and 4 of Netflix and Left Bank Pictures’ The Crown.
Then there’s Nicole Holofcener’s sharply observed — satisfyingly so — arch comedy You Hurt My Feelings, which is available on digital platforms in the U.S. and streaming on Prime Video in the U.K. from August 8.
Menzies sports an impressive American accent in Holofcener’s movie...
- 7/22/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Ready to get dolled up for “Medusa Deluxe?”
The nearly unclassifiable new feature from writer/director Thomas Hardiman, which is equal parts murder mystery, dark comedy and family drama (of sorts), is set to be released by A24 on August 11 in theaters and on VOD. And the first trailer is here to dazzle you. Watch it above.
“Medusa Deluxe” premiered last year at Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival and won a prize at Fantastic Fest in Austin for Best Direction. And it’s no wonder, either, since “Medusa Deluxe” plays out in a single “unbroken” shot, with the events unfolding almost in real time. It was shot by the great Robbie Ryan, an Irish cinematographer who also did “The Favourite,” “Marriage Story” and “C’mon C’mon” among many others.
Also Read:
‘Wonka’ Trailer Reveals Timothee Chalamet’s Take on Roald Dahl’s Classic Character (Video)
This is Hardiman’s debut feature,...
The nearly unclassifiable new feature from writer/director Thomas Hardiman, which is equal parts murder mystery, dark comedy and family drama (of sorts), is set to be released by A24 on August 11 in theaters and on VOD. And the first trailer is here to dazzle you. Watch it above.
“Medusa Deluxe” premiered last year at Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival and won a prize at Fantastic Fest in Austin for Best Direction. And it’s no wonder, either, since “Medusa Deluxe” plays out in a single “unbroken” shot, with the events unfolding almost in real time. It was shot by the great Robbie Ryan, an Irish cinematographer who also did “The Favourite,” “Marriage Story” and “C’mon C’mon” among many others.
Also Read:
‘Wonka’ Trailer Reveals Timothee Chalamet’s Take on Roald Dahl’s Classic Character (Video)
This is Hardiman’s debut feature,...
- 7/12/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Joaquin Phoenix is Napoleon Bonaparte. We admit it’s a bit of a strange idea given the absolute lack of je ne sais quoi energy (or French accent) that comes to mind when you think of the American actor. Nevertheless, in the first trailer for Ridley Scott’s Napoleon biopic, there is something undeniably intriguing about the performance, not least of which because this is a chance to see Phoenix work with Scott again in a sprawling historical context.
Indeed, the first and last time the pair collaborated was Gladiator, the film that won Scott a Best Picture Oscar and garnered Phoenix a supporting actor nomination. In that film, Phoenix played another tyrant, too, albeit a less ambiguous one (there are no grand monuments to Commodus in Rome like there is for Napoleon in Paris!). Yet the more interesting point of contrast might be how much the film industry has...
Indeed, the first and last time the pair collaborated was Gladiator, the film that won Scott a Best Picture Oscar and garnered Phoenix a supporting actor nomination. In that film, Phoenix played another tyrant, too, albeit a less ambiguous one (there are no grand monuments to Commodus in Rome like there is for Napoleon in Paris!). Yet the more interesting point of contrast might be how much the film industry has...
- 7/10/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Song accepted the award at London’s Picturehouse Central cinema.
Celine Song’s Past Lives has won the 2023 Sundance Film Festival: London audience award, bringing the 10th edition of the UK event to a close at the Picturehouse Central cinema.
It is the latest international prize for Song’s debut feature, which launched in the Premieres section at the US Sundance event in January, and topped the Screen jury grid when in competition at the Berlinale.
Studiocanal will release Past Lives in UK cinemas from September 8; A24, which also produced the film, released it in the US last month.
Past Lives...
Celine Song’s Past Lives has won the 2023 Sundance Film Festival: London audience award, bringing the 10th edition of the UK event to a close at the Picturehouse Central cinema.
It is the latest international prize for Song’s debut feature, which launched in the Premieres section at the US Sundance event in January, and topped the Screen jury grid when in competition at the Berlinale.
Studiocanal will release Past Lives in UK cinemas from September 8; A24, which also produced the film, released it in the US last month.
Past Lives...
- 7/9/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Allison Williams is speaking out against disrespectful comments she experienced on the “Boardwalk Empire” set.
In a candid discussion at the Nantucket Film Festival’s “Women Behind the Words” panel, Allison Williams, Nicole Holofcener, and Michaela Watkins shed light on the challenges faced by women in the film and TV industry, per IndieWire.
Read More: Drew Barrymore Surprises Allison Williams By Dressing Up As M3GAN
Among the discussions shared in the wide-ranging conversations was a notable experience of disrespectful objectification Wiliams, 35, endured before her breakout role on HBO’s “Girls”.
“There’s like 10 stories fighting their way from my brain to my mouth that I’m trying to keep out of my mouth,” Williams began.
Read More: Riz Ahmed Gets Laughs When Announcing Oscar-Nominated Short Film ‘My Year Of D**ks’
“I guess one of them, just very quickly … people just underestimate your humanity often as a young woman up and coming in our business.
In a candid discussion at the Nantucket Film Festival’s “Women Behind the Words” panel, Allison Williams, Nicole Holofcener, and Michaela Watkins shed light on the challenges faced by women in the film and TV industry, per IndieWire.
Read More: Drew Barrymore Surprises Allison Williams By Dressing Up As M3GAN
Among the discussions shared in the wide-ranging conversations was a notable experience of disrespectful objectification Wiliams, 35, endured before her breakout role on HBO’s “Girls”.
“There’s like 10 stories fighting their way from my brain to my mouth that I’m trying to keep out of my mouth,” Williams began.
Read More: Riz Ahmed Gets Laughs When Announcing Oscar-Nominated Short Film ‘My Year Of D**ks’
“I guess one of them, just very quickly … people just underestimate your humanity often as a young woman up and coming in our business.
- 7/2/2023
- by Emerson Pearson
- ET Canada
At last weekend’s “Women Behind the Words” panel at the Nantucket Film Festival, panelists Allison Williams, Nicole Holofcener, and Michaela Watkins opened up about the dismissiveness and disrespect that they’ve experienced as women in film and TV. Williams talked about how viewers, social media users, and even journalists conflated the “Girls” actresses with their characters. And Holofcener talked about how a prominent industry figure told her to stop writing.
But the most striking remark unfolded when Williams talked about an incident of on-set disrespect she experienced in the years leading up to her breakout success on “Girls.”
“There’s like 10 stories fighting their way from my brain to my mouth that I’m trying to keep out of my mouth,” Williams said. “I guess one of them, just very quickly … people just underestimate your humanity often as a young woman up and coming in our business. I was...
But the most striking remark unfolded when Williams talked about an incident of on-set disrespect she experienced in the years leading up to her breakout success on “Girls.”
“There’s like 10 stories fighting their way from my brain to my mouth that I’m trying to keep out of my mouth,” Williams said. “I guess one of them, just very quickly … people just underestimate your humanity often as a young woman up and coming in our business. I was...
- 6/30/2023
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
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